


All I Wanna Do Is *gunshot noises* And Take Your Money

by angrygoomba, cellostiel



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: 20s au, Alternate Universe - Grand Theft Auto Setting, Alternate Universe - Mob, Canon-Typical Violence, Drinking, F/F, F/M, GTA AU, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Multi, Old-timey slurs, Period-Typical Homophobia, Polyamory, Smoking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-14
Updated: 2017-01-14
Packaged: 2018-09-17 09:44:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9317210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angrygoomba/pseuds/angrygoomba, https://archiveofourown.org/users/cellostiel/pseuds/cellostiel
Summary: "Not to be a wet blanket or nothing," he starts, frowning. "But didn't Joel get nailed by the cops?""What?!" Geoff's voice cracks as he whirls to look at Ryan."Yeah, some snitch dropped a dime on him about a week ago. They didn't find the bar, but Joel's men shut it down anyway."Geoff slams the dashboard. "Damn it!""What the fuck, Ryan?" Michael snaps, leaning over Gavin. "Where the Hell are we supposed to get booze now?""What're you looking at me for? I'm not the one who snitched!""Guys, calm down." Ray cuts in. "It's Chicago, there'll be other juice joints."





	

**Author's Note:**

> yo!! so here's the dealio with this: we wrote most of this like a year ago so it's like, way outta date but we love it anyways so we wanted to share it with y'all! we have another chapter almost finished but uh GT & I both have busy school/work schedules now so updates are gonna be slowwww. never fear, though! we do have this story planned out to the end & we intend on finishing it! so you may just have to bear with us for a while!
> 
> thanks so much, and we hope you enjoy! 
> 
> also for the best experience you might wanna listen to the playlist we used to write this - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_d7JwoRE-TyBHWHG-OF9d5nPX_QvFnte

Michael shifts his grip on his gun, scowling at the clock on the far wall. It's almost unreadable in the darkness of the office. "Hurry the fuck up, would you?" he hisses over his shoulder. "We've got less than two minutes before the next shift of guards." 

"I can't hurry, this is delicate!" Gavin protests, his ear pressed against the safe. 

"Just fucking use the soup and let's get outta here!"

"Fine!" Gavin slams down his safecracking tools and starts rummaging through his bag. "You and your explosives."

"They get the job done, okay? Not all of us have time for fucking perfectionism."

"It's not perfectionism, it's finesse!"

"Whatever! I'm not a school boy like Ryan." 

"Can you two stop bickering and crack the God Damned safe already?" Ryan snaps, glaring at them from the door. There's a dead guard from the last shift at his feet, and he kicks it away.

"If you're gonna yell at someone, yell at Gavin! He's the one dragging his feet."

"Do  _ you _ wanna blow up because I rushed this?" Gavin asks, holding up his explosives. "Me neither."

"Just get it done and grab the cash." Ryan sighs. Michael rolls his eyes, following as Gavin darts out of the room. They press their backs against the wall, bracing as Gavin taps the wires against the battery in his arms. The safe blows, filling the office with smoke and chipped plaster. Michael shakes his head to combat the ringing in his ears, and waves his way through the smoke. 

He kicks open the door to the safe and starts grabbing the cash by the fistful, shoving it into the duffel Ryan tosses him. Gav grabs some papers from one of the shelves and shuffles through them, making a pleased noise as he folds them and tucks them into his trousers. 

"Got everything?" Ryan asks. 

"It's all here." Michael answers, zipping up the duffel and shoving it into Gavin's arms. He stands and checks his gun. "Let's blouse." 

Reaching the hall, Michael can already hear the shouts of the new guards as they discover their fallen comrades on the first floor. Ryan grabs Gavin by his sleeve and tugs him in the opposite direction of the stairwell. Michael covers their backs, shooting the first guard that reaches the top of the stairs. The dead weight distracts the others long enough for Michael to make it out the window to the fire escape unscathed. 

They scale the stairs quickly, making it to the roof where Ray is dismantling his perch and setting up their exit. He slings his rifle over his back and tosses a rope ladder over the edge. 

"Going down?" he asks with a grin. Gavin laughs, climbing onto the ladder, and Ryan claps a hand on Ray's shoulder before following. Michael nods his head for Ray to head down first, then turns to the fire escape. 

A head pokes up over the edge, and Michael fires. The bullet bounces off the metal railing, and Michael curses as the head ducks down. He fires off two more rounds for intimidation before hopping off the roof.

He only barely catches himself on the ladder, and from below comes the distinct sound of Gavin screaming. Michael rolls his eyes, grabbing the ladder with his other hand and starting his descent. He gets about a floor and a half down before there are assholes leaning off the roof and shooting at him. He points his gun up and fires off some rounds, but the magazine pulls up empty fast. 

A bullet whizzes by his ear, and one of the guards falls off the roof. Michael glances down to find Ray knelt by the car, his rifle in his hands. Remind him to buy Ray a drink after this. Or, you know, whatever foul liquid Ray uses to hydrate himself. Can you imagine a life without booze?

Well, okay, most people can, nowadays, but not Michael or his friends, thank God. 

Michael jumps the last story, rolling as he hits the ground and landing by the car. "Go, go, go!" he shouts, shoving at Gavin's ass. Gavin squawks and shoves the duffel through the open window before diving in after it. Dumb fuck gets stuck with his ass outside the car, and Michael rolls his eyes, standing and trying to shove him the rest of the way in.

"Come on, boys, let's go!" Geoff yells, leaning out his window. He reaches up with his gun and blind fires over the roof of the car at the guards. "Before we all die!"

"Fuck it." Michael abandons his task in favor of reloading his gun and climbing onto the car. Ray pops off two more shots at the guards before Ryan hauls him up by his collar and drags him towards the car. Ray climbs in and Ryan holds onto the outside of the car, banging on the roof to let Jack know they're all in. 

Jack floors it immediately, and Michael has to grip the car with both hands at first, his gun tucked into his trousers. Ryan recomposes before Michael, whipping out his Colt and firing at the cars already pursuing them. Not one to be upstaged, Michael steadies himself and pulls out his gun. 

Gavin is still screeching, trying to climb inside the car. His legs are flailing, and Michael has to swat at them to keep from being knocked off the car.

"Hold still!" Michael yells, pausing in his shooting to shove at Gavin's ass. The idiot doesn't fall in. "God, I hate you." 

"Ray, help!" Gavin pleads.

"Kinda busy here!" Ray says. Over the hood of the car, Michael can see Ray's head as he leans out the window to fire a couple shotgun rounds at tires. One on a car behind them blows, and Ray whoops. "That's how it's done!"

Jack pulls a hard right, and Ryan's eyes widen as he's almost thrown off. Ray's hand shoots out and grabs Ryan by his vest. His shotgun clatters onto the road, quickly run over by the car behind him. 

"Damn it, Ryan! That's my favorite shotgun." Ray complains. 

"I'll make it up to you later." Ryan promises, grinning as he shoves the Colt in his pocket, grabbing his own shotgun from the small of his back instead. He offers it to Ray, who accepts it with a grumble. Ryan smirks and pulls his Colt back out to shoot a driver square between the eyes. The car spins out, knocking out two cars behind it. Jack takes another hard turn, and this time Ray manages to hold onto both the gun and Ryan at the same time. Michael's just grateful that this turn managed to tip Gavin all the way into the back seat. 

"You done being a baby now?" Michael asks him as he attempts to sit up. "You ready to help us avoid death?"

"I was stuck!" Gavin argues. Michael scoffs. 

"Whatever. Reload this for me." He tosses in his pistol, then grabs his revolver from inside his jacket. Michael can only thank God that Gavin actually listens, ripping out the magazine and shoving bullets into it. He hands the gun back with a speed second only to Ray, and Michael exchanges his revolver for it. 

"Coming up on the jump!" Jack calls out. Gavin taps Michael's side three times to make sure he's heard, and Ray does the same to Ryan. Michael twists his head to look at the jump, gauging the distance before turning to Ryan with a grin. Ryan raises a brow. 

"What're you thinking, Mogar?" he asks. Michael reaches into his jacket and pulls out one of his grenades, showing it off to Ryan over the hood of the car with a smirk that Ryan mirrors. "I like the way you think."

Michael pulls the pin with his teeth and lets it fall onto the street. The cars behind them swerve, and Michael hops into the car through the open window while Ryan smoothly opens the door on his side and slips in. The explosion rocks the car, Jack cursing as he tries to steady them. 

"That's how we do it in Jersey!" Michael yells, leaning out the window. 

Ray whistles low, shifting onto Ryan's lap as he peers out the back window. "Nice one."

"Been saving that baby for a special occasion." Michael says proudly, shoving Gavin aside so he can sit.

"Good show, Lad." Geoff says, grinning back at him from the passenger seat. Michael preens. "Gavin, you're an idiot."

"Everyone hold on." Jack shouts, cutting off Gavin's offended squawk. 

"Jack, please, with the yelling. We're right here." Ray says, rolling his eyes. Jack sends him a glare through the rearview mirror. 

"Just hold onto something, jackasses."

Michael braces himself against the roof and the driver's seat, sighing when Gavin decides to cling to  _ him _ for safety. Ryan wraps one arm around Ray and braces with the other, while Geoff grips the dashboard for dear life. Jack slams down on the gas and they go off a ramp on the side of the bridge, soaring through the air. 

There's a crunch of metal as they land on the bridge a couple dozen feet away. The car's definitely fucked up now, but none of the cars on the other bridge have the juice to follow them. Once all four wheels are safely on the ground, Jack smacks the car back to life and takes off down the road. Geoff whoops, leaning out the window to flip off the cars on the other bridge.

"Take that, assholes!" he says, putting both arms out of the window to flip both birds. Jack sighs, reaching over to tug Geoff back into the car. Geoff settles back in his seat, turning to grin back at the Lads and Ryan. "Nice job, boys. Tonight's drinks are on Marquis and Demaris!" 

Gavin, Michael, and Jack cheer, Ray chiming in with an unenthusiastic "whoo". Ryan makes a face.

"Not to be a wet blanket or nothing," he starts, frowning. "But didn't Joel get nailed by the cops?"

"What?!" Geoff's voice cracks as he whirls to look at Ryan. 

"Yeah, some snitch dropped a dime on him about a week ago. They didn't find the bar, but Joel's men shut it down anyway."

Geoff slams the dashboard. "Damn it!"

"What the fuck, Ryan?" Michael snaps, leaning over Gavin. "Where the Hell are we supposed to get booze now?"

"What're you looking at me for? I'm not the one who snitched!" 

"Guys, calm down." Ray cuts in. "It's Chicago, there'll be other juice joints."

"Ones where we're in good with the owner?" Geoff shoots back. 

"I might know of a place." Jack says. Geoff whips to face him.

_ "What place?" _

"There's this place by the docks run by a guy Caiti knows. Guess she met him when she lived in Cincinnati for a while."

"They still on good standing?" Geoff asks. 

"Good enough for him to get in touch with her to tell her about the speakeasy he just opened up."

"Did they fuck?" Gavin asks.

"Jesus, no! He's Ray's age, for God's sake."

"Ryan's older than her, and he fucks Ray!" Gavin argues.

"What's this place called?" Ray asks while Michael whacks Gavin in the stomach and Ryan smacks his head. 

"The Wharf." Jack answers.

Michael looks up from putting Gavin in a headlock and snorts.

"Well that's a fucking stupid name."

"I don't care if it's called goddamn Satan's Asshole; take us there. Now." Geoff insists. Jack shrugs and takes a left. 

 

~

 

Jack drives the car slowly around a corner into the main part of the dock as Geoff looks out the window. Both Michael and Ryan have their guns drawn while scanning the area as they roll slowly forward. The docks are empty and silent at this time of night, but everyone keeps their guards up in case they were followed. Jack stops the car in an alley, and Geoff turns to him.

“This is the place,” Jack says, motioning to the door about ten feet ahead of them.

It looks like any other alley way, the only sign that there’s any reason to be there being a small light bulb above the door and a freshly painted pink mustache on the dark, weathered wood.

“Are you sure about this, Geoff?” Michael asks, sliding his gun back into his coat. “We don’t know if this guy is in with any other families.”

“He’s not,” says Jack as he turns off the engine. “He just opened this place a few weeks ago.”

Geoff thinks for a moment before turning to his men.

“Jack, Michael, you come with me, the rest of you wait here with the goods while we make sure this joint is a keeper,” Geoff decides, sliding out of the car and slipping on his hat. “No need to bring it in until I give the signal, got it?”

The two other lads and Ryan nod. Ryan steps out of the car with his Colt still drawn and leans against the side of the car to keep watch as Geoff and his two chosen men follow him to the door. Geoff raps his knuckles on the thick wood a few times, and a second later it cracks open. An eye peers at them for a moment before the door opens wider and a man with a round face and a few days worth of scruff appears.

“Can I help you?” the man asks, looking at Geoff and his men, then around at the car and the figure of Ryan leaning against it.

“We’re friends of Caiti,” Jack says, and the man’s eyebrow quirks. He looks them over once more before turning and motioning to someone inside the bar. A few seconds later another man appears. His dark hair is messy from fingers running through it and his sleeves are rolled up to his elbows. He’s wiping his hands on his apron as he approaches and stops next to the doorman.

“What is it, Wade?” the the man asks, his voice low and smooth.

“These cats say they’re friends of Caiti,” Wade says, crossing his arms. The other man looks them over, and when his eyes land on Jack he smiles.

“You wouldn’t happen to be the man that married my sister, would you?” he says, and Jack smiles back.

“You must be Mark,” Jack replies, sticking out his hand for Mark to shake. “This is my boss, Geoff Ramsey.” Mark turns and shakes Geoff’s hand as well.

“Pleasure to meet you.” says Mark, his smile still warm. “What is it that I can do for you fine gentlemen at this time of night? Come for a nightcap?” Mark puts his hands on his hips as he looks them over, not missing the glint of metal in Ryan’s hand from the side of the car.

“Word is you have a place we can lay low,” says Geoff, raising his chin to look Mark in the eye. “We would like to, shall we say, commandeer it for the night, y’see?” Mark raised his eyebrows and glanced at the car again before looking back at Geoff.

“We’ve got some hot cabbage we need to count without bringing too much attention to ourselves,” Jack says when he catches Mark’s glance. “If you got the room.” Mark looks them all over again before smiling again.

“Any friend of Caiti’s is a friend of mine,” Mark states and motions for Wade to open the door all the way. Geoff turns and signals for Ryan and the other two lads to get the money and follow them inside. Mark leads Geoff and his men through the door and into the main room of the bar.

The bar is still gaining popularity, so even with the night being relatively young, there are only a few tables occupied by patrons in the speakeasy. It’s dimly lit but on every table there’s a round glass jar with a flickering candle inside. On the far right wall is a stage a few feet higher than the main floor where some instruments rest and a man in a bowler hat sits, playing a sultry tune on a standing piano. The bar lines the wall across from the door and Mark leads them to a liquor cabinet  in the far corner that sticks out a bit further than the rest of the bar. With a quick flip of a latch on the inside behind one of the bottles, Mark easily slides the case to the side with one arm. Directly behind it is a door that he opens with a key from his pocket. He leads them through it and into a room with a few couches, a large round table, a small bar with multiple kinds of liquor on the shelves, and a queen sized bed against one wall.

Mark turns and watches them as they all come into the room. Gavin, who until now has been clutching the bag of money to his chest, sets it down in the middle of the table. Michael moves towards the bar and looks at all the bottles, reading the names, and lets out a low whistle.

“This guy has quite the selection of giggle juice,” Michael says, turning to Geoff. “This seems like an alright place.” Geoff nods and turns to Mark.

“We thank you for letting us borrow your back room,” he says and shakes Mark’s hand again, this time slipping him a few bills from his pocket in the shake. Mark pockets them and smiles at them all.

“Feel free to help yourselves to any drinks you like,” Mark says and moves towards the bar. “Quick tip,” he points to a bare bulb on the wall by the door. “That’ll flash if there’s any problems up front. Keep an eye on that in case you were tailed.”

“And what if we need to talk to you again?” Ray speaks up, as he sits on one of the couches with Ryan. Mark looks at him with a raised brow then motions towards the door again.

“There’s a button that will buzz me if you need anything,” Mark says, his eyes locked with Ray’s as he speaks. “Wade will also be outside the door if you’d rather join me at the main bar. Just knock on the bookshelf and he’ll open it for you.” They look at each other for a while longer before Ryan slings an arm around Ray’s shoulders and Mark looks away. He turns to look at Geoff, who has joined Michael in choosing which bottle to open first.

“Anything else I can do for you before I get back to work?” He puts his hands on his hips and looks them all over.

“Nothing yet, thank you, Mark.” says Jack as he takes a seat at the table and removes his coat.

“Tell Caiti I say hi, and that if she wants to stop by and catch up, my door is always open for her.” Mark says, clapping a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “Maybe we can get acquainted as well.” Jack smiles at him and nods.

“I’ll have Caiti call you and set up a safe day to come by,” Jack replies, and Mark nods knowingly. It’s not exactly an easy thing, being married to second in command of a powerful mob family.

“You gentlemen do enjoy yourselves,” Mark says. He gives one last smile at them all, his eyes lingering on Ray longer than the others before he slips out the door and shuts it silently.

“I like this joint,” Gavin says, flopping himself onto one of the large couches. “Can we make this place our new hole, boss?” He looks over his shoulder at Geoff, who cracks open a bottle of some unmarked dark liquor. After taking a sip straight from the bottle he hands it to Michael who does the same, but splutters at the strength of the liquid.

“I think that could be arranged,” Geoff says as he slaps Michael on the back. “What do you say, Jack?”

Jack unzips the bag on the table and starts pulling out stacks of cash and counting them out. After a few seconds he looks up at Geoff.

“After this score, we could probably buy this place and half the dock,” he says, and the boys let out a few whoops. Gavin jumps up from the couch to help Michael pour a round of drinks for everyone, snagging two glass bottles of water for Ryan and Ray. Once everyone has a drink and is seated around the table, Geoff leans back in his chair and pulls out a cigar from his jacket pocket. He lights it with a match and takes a small puff.

“How much did we swipe tonight?” He asks, tucking a hand in his suspenders. Jack and Ryan are counting the money out as Gavin builds small towers with the already counted stacks and Michael knocks them down with a cackle. Jack holds up a finger as he counts on a pad of paper. Geoff sighs and waits as Jack finishes counting, watching Ray clean Ryan’s colt for him instead.

After a few minutes, Jack finishes adding it all up and chuckles softly. Geoff looks up at him with his eyebrows raised. At Jack’s grin, Geoff speaks up.

“Is it a lot?” he asks, smoke escaping from his mouth as he speaks.

“I don’t know,” Jack says and runs a hand along his beard. “Does 40 large seem like a lot to you?” Geoff’s mouth falls open and the lads fall silent. Ray looks up from his cleaning with wide eyes.

“You’re shitting me,” Geoff mutters and with Jack’s raised eyebrows as a response he takes off his hat and runs a hand through his hair. Michael and Gavin whoop loudly, clinking their glasses together. Ryan holds a stack of bills in one hand and flips through it with the other, a smirk on his face.

“Well done, gentlemen,” Geoff says, raising his glass. “A toast to a job well done.”

“And to whatever the hell this is,” Michael adds, lifting his cup and swishing the amber liquid around the glass. The men all laugh and raise their glasses, clinking them together as they soak in the afterglow of adrenaline and the start of a buzz from an unknown booze.

After a few rounds of drinks, Ray gets bored of watching his friends mess around and get drunk, so he stands and stretches. Ryan looks up at his sudden movement.

“You alright?” he asks the lad and Ray smiles at him.

“Swell,” Ray replies with a smirk. “I’m gonna go check out this Mark character.”

“Do you want me to come with you?”

“Nah, I’m a big boy, Rye, I can take care of myself,” Ray responds with a wink. He straightens his coat and runs a hand along Ryan’s shoulders as he makes his way to the door. Ryan frowns but lets him go before turning back to the impromptu poker game Michael's started.

Ray raps lightly on the back of the cabinet and a few seconds later it slides open and he steps out from behind it. The man named Wade nods at him as he walks past towards the bar and he slides the case shut behind him. Ray looks around the bar and at the few tables with patrons at them. It wasn’t even midnight yet but there were about fifteen people in there, including himself. He sees the same man playing the piano as before, but his hat is sitting on top of the piano now and his sleeves are rolled up similar to Mark’s.

Ray’s eyes finally land on Mark himself as he stands behind the bar, pouring a drink for someone. Ray walks over to the bar and sits down and Mark looks up at him. A small smile is on his lips when he sees who sat down and he hands the finished drink to the person waiting, who walks away.

“What can I do for you?” Mark asks Ray, his voice just as smooth as before, if not a little lower. Ray shrugs and meets Mark’s eyes.

“Got tired of the scene in there, thought I might make your acquaintance,” Ray says with a tilt of his head. Mark smiles at that and picks up a towel. He wipes off his hands before offering one to Ray.

“Mark Fischbach,” he states as Ray takes his hand, noting how much larger than his own it is.

“Ray Narvaez,” Ray shakes Mark’s hand firmly but lets his hand linger for a bit before pulling away.

“Pleasure to meet you, Ray,” Mark says with a smile. “Haven’t gotten many trouble boys of your caliber in here before. Only small time kids.”

“Oh really?” Ray raises his eyebrows, and Mark nods towards a table in the back. Ray turns and looks at the small group of people sitting around it, drinking and laughing.

“They call themselves the Grumps,” Mark says with an amused tone. “They want to be a big mob family one day, but I don’t think they’ve ever actually done anything bigger than pickpocketing grandmothers and hustling cards.” Ray smirks at that before turning around to face Mark again.

“Sounds like you know them pretty well,” Ray says and leans his arms on the bar. Mark shrugs and puts away the bottle he used to fill the drink before Ray sat down.

“They come here often and their ‘boss’ lives in the apartment next to mine,” Mark says with emphasis on the word boss. “They aren’t exactly on your level, but they are quite good at nicking all my food, sleeping on my couch, and annoying the hell out of me.” Ray laughs at that and Mark smiles.

“That sounds like Gavin before he started staying with his squeeze all the time,” says the lad.

“The English?” Mark asks and Ray nods.

“Him and the small angry one have been inseparable since they met.” Mark gives Ray a small smile.

“Have they, now?” he says and Ray nods.

“Gavin used to brush Michael the wrong way for ages before he saved his life one day then bam they had the hots for each other, real bad.” Ray leans his elbows on the bar and cradles his chin in one hand while the other taps out a rhythm to go with the piano music flowing from the stage.

“That doesn’t seem to affect how you all do business, does it?” Mark asks, placing the bottle of liquor on a shelf behind him and wiping off the counter.

“Not as far as I can tell, but they do tend to disappear together after a good score pretty quick,” Ray replies with a smirk. “Not that I would want to stick around for long, either.” Mark smirks at that but it falters and he clears his throat. He looks back down at the dish towel in his hand and pays special attention to folding it.

“So, what about you? Looks like you got a squeeze yourself,” says Mark a bit quietly without looking at Ray. Ray’s eyebrows raise and he smiles a little.

“Ryan is my squeeze, yes,” says Ray and Mark’s shoulders fall a little. “But he knows I’m not a one-man kind of guy.” Mark looks up at that and Ray gives him a smile. The bartender’s cheeks go a little pink and Ray finds himself thinking that he’s really starting to like this fella.

“How does he feel about you talking to me, then?” Mark asks.

Ray opens his mouth to answer but the sound of something bumping into the liquor shelf and a loud curse makes them both turn. Wade slides back the shelf and there stands Gavin, rubbing his nose and holding an empty bottle. He walks out towards where Mark and Ray are, a little wobbly, and holds the bottle up to Mark.

“We need more of this,” says the Brit. “An’ what is it anyway?” Ray rolls his eyes. Gavin was usually the first to finish a few drinks after a heist so the others must have sent him out to find more of the unmarked liquor. Mark takes the bottle and removes the lid to give it a quick sniff. A look of recognition crosses his face before he leans down and grabs a bottle from under the bar.

“Here you are,” he says with a smile. “This is a brew specially made for me and my bar by my good friend Jack.” Mark waves at the man playing the piano who nods his head in response. Gavin takes the bottle with a grin and gives a slightly slurred thanks to Mark before disappearing behind the secret door. Ray watches him go and shakes his head fondly. He looks back at Mark and clears his throat.

“I better make sure he doesn’t gamble his share away,” Ray says and slides off the barstool. “Thanks for chatting with me, Mark. It’s been real nice making your acquaintance.”

“Until we meet again,” says Mark and he holds out his hand for Ray. Ray takes it and instead of shaking his hand, Mark brings his knuckles to his lips and just barely brushes against them. It catches Ray by surprise and his cheeks go pink. Mark looks up at him through his lashes for approval, silently making sure this is okay, and Ray gives him a small smile. If Mark notices his blush he doesn’t say anything and he lets Ray’s hand slip out of his slowly.

Ray silently walks back to the shelf and while Wade is sliding it open he glances back at Mark to find him watching him. He gives Ray one last smile and a dip of his head before turning to help someone. Ray walks through the door and rejoins his friends in their merry-making, his knuckles still tingling.


End file.
